Saturday 24 October 2009 11.00 EDT
First published on Saturday 24 October 2009 11.00 EDT

Our political system is in crisis. In the wake of the expenses scandal, respect for our elected representatives is too low. Sitting in the modern equivalent of rotten boroughs, MPs are finding it increasingly difficult to engage with the public. Add declining voter turnout and the plummeting membership of political parties to the mix, and it's clear that reform is desperately needed. What could be more important than ensuring that our systems of government and of holding power to account are fully fit and functional?

And yet reform of how we are governed and by whom remains almost exclusively in the hands of those already in power. Turkeys don't tend to vote for Christmas any more than ducks do. So it's perhaps not a surprise that the proposals for change they have put forward since the Telegraph exposures in May don't cut the mustard. Too little and a little late. The lack of meaningful action has left a disillusioned electorate wanting change but feeling powerless to make it happen. We need to open the system up to fresh, new voices and views.

When Comic Relief was started in the 1980s, it faced similar challenges about engaging people. People knew and were moved by the heart-breaking effect desperate poverty and environmental challenges were having on their fellow men and women at home and abroad. They saw it, in some form or another, every day on the news. But they felt powerless as individuals to change the situation. Back then, people questioned the juxtaposition of comedy with serious issues, the seamless televisual segue from stand-up to starvation. But experience has shown that, done right, the power of entertainment to engage people to think deeper about issues that are of common concern and to act in concert to address them can work and work well. Comic Relief has played a vital part in changing the attitude of a generation towards their own ability to change their world.

The Open Up campaign hopes to harness this power once again. Politics affects every one of us every day, but it's well documented that all of us, and especially the young, feel increasingly alienated from its workings. We want to open up politics in two key ways – first we want people to reclaim their stake in the process, and demand change. "My vote doesn't count" is a common and irritating refrain – given every vote has equal weight, that state of affairs should at least worry mathematicians.

Second, through our call for open primaries, we want to open up the pool of people who are ready to take on an even greater role in the process of holding power to account, and represent their communities as MPs. We also want every current MP who wants to stand in the next general election to stand for selection again.

I'm confident about Open Up for a couple of reasons. First, because we have an amazing Electoral Commission who can turn around a national election in a month, so surely primaries can be organised in the projected period before the next general election. The cost involved is a relatively small price to pay for better government.

But second and perhaps more important, is that one of the lessons Comic Relief has taught me is that people really do care about other people as well as themselves. Britain is a nation of volunteers, of generous donors to and passionate participants in community activities, causes and charities. Lately, this energy has been growing in Britain, but outside of traditional political structures. Imagine what would happen if it could be brought to bear now on how we are governed. The country faces unprecedented challenges – environmental, financial and social – overseas and closer to home.

If you haven't already seen the duck films we've put together, please do take a look – they are the Open Up campaign's attempt to engage attention and divert away from exhaustion and disillusionment towards empowerment. If you support the campaign to open up politics, please join me in signing the Open Up petition demanding open primaries.

I hope the Open Up message is a powerful one. Our talking ducks are as resistant to change as some of the sitting ducks in parliament, in part because they've feathered their nests and think they have a lot to lose. In fact they have a lot to gain. By opening up, by listening, by embracing reform, and by harnessing the extraordinary generosity, commitment and talent of the British people, they can help us all get to a place where politics can once again command all of our respect. We all need to engage and rebuild this respect in our politics and politicians.